RETRO PIXEL PURIST! My stuffs what I work on in the little free time I have:Carnivac Tumblr - Doctor Who - Retro Sprite Gallery - My Pixelation portfolioGraphic tools: Paint Shop Pro 7 and Pro Motion V6"We all change... when you think about it. We're all different people, all through our lives. And that's okay, that's good, but you've got to keep moving, so long as you remember all the people that you used to be." - The Doctor

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Beacon has "art" and "indie" going for it (should I include "short development time" and "pretty pixels"?), automatically making it have credibility in the eyes of the people here (and elsewhere, apparently).

Honestly, there was no way I could vote for it. I cannot advocate the creation of games which aren't, well, games.

Admittedly, the previous Cage Match was interesting. Mega Block Man 2 had the higher vote count twice (at the start and near the end), and ultimately lost (how, I'll never know. Seriously, impressive game in GM's d3d, with solid platforming... loses to a simple 2d platforming game where you have to wait for a light constantly???).

Beacon has "art" and "indie" going for it (should I include "short development time" and "pretty pixels"?), automatically making it have credibility in the eyes of the people here (and elsewhere, apparently).

Honestly, there was no way I could vote for it. I cannot advocate the creation of games which aren't, well, games.

Admittedly, the previous Cage Match was interesting. Mega Block Man 2 had the higher vote count twice (at the start and near the end), and ultimately lost (how, I'll never know. Seriously, impressive game in GM's d3d, with solid platforming... loses to a simple 2d platforming game where you have to wait for a light constantly???).

The world's most annoying game looked very unprofessional, and the character moved too slow to make the game any fun. There's nothing more annoying than having to play through the same level 20 times so that you know where all the random traps are. This game should be frustration platformer, but there's nothing actually frustrating about it. Once you know where the traps are, you can easily get through each level, but the problem is that you really don't have any motivation to get that far. If the game was trying to pass itself off as a joke or satire, it didn't do it very well.

On the other hand, beacon was very professionally presented, and while the game was not terribly interesting at the beginning, the artwork, atmosphere, and solid platforming was enough to keep the player going throughout the whole game.

Neither game was phenomenal, but beacon wins my vote by a large margin.

Beacon has "art" and "indie" going for it (should I include "short development time" and "pretty pixels"?), automatically making it have credibility in the eyes of the people here (and elsewhere, apparently).

Honestly, there was no way I could vote for it. I cannot advocate the creation of games which aren't, well, games.

Beacon had gameplay. I died multiple times, I had to try different parts over again. There was user input, there was challenge, and there was a goal, so how is that not a game?

Beacon has feeling, nicely done graphics, and an interesting concept behind it. I can't say as much for The World's Most Annoying Game. That's not too say The World's Most Annoying game was bad, it was alright. just not my kind of thing. I felt you moved too slowly, and became tired of going through the same level 25 times.

Voted Beacon again. For the second week in a row, the unprofessionality of its competitor prevented me from enjoying the game. It was helped by the plain fact that overly difficult platformers are overdone and boring, though.

But, it's SO boring! Holy hell man! Do something with your game! Did the designer think people would fall over backwards at the sheer awesomeness of following the light around? Jesus ... >.<

TWMAG is quite apparently not made for players to enjoy. It's name even confirms that. Why you would make such a contraption aside from a laugh or two with a pal, I have no idea. Certainly not to publish and expect people to have fun.

Both games lack that fundamental quality that makes games fun. The fun.

I voted neither, but I'll give a cheer for the nice feel of Beacon.

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ÔÇťOne of the most difficult tasks people can perform, however much others may despise it, is the invention of good games.ÔÇŁ --Jung

|| "For a WIP, 8/10." --chichmonkey || "I'll give it a 9/10" --simple-games || "There's just something about this game which makes it so addictive" --ninja_sheep ||

It doesn't take all that long to get to the end. I found the first 5 minutes boring (gameplay-wise), but the further I progressed the more it grew on me. I liked exploring the cave with the light. It was a simple concept, executed well, with an interesting ending that really made me think.

Did the designer think people would fall over backwards at the sheer awesomeness of following the light around? Jesus ... >.<

Mmmm nope. : ) My design implementation was actually a lot more elaborate and deliberate than that. I don't think the game's boring at all, though. You just have to be the right type of person to appreciate it.

People who enjoy Beacon, I think, are usually not so intent on getting ahead of the beacon, but rather play into the situation presented to them. They follow the beacon, stay with it (not rush ahead of it) and wonder what it is, maybe what it represents, and quite often wonder whether it is good or bad. They're startled when it leaves them behind, sometimes even become scared or desperate, yet relieved and happy when it returns, despite whether they liked or hated it before that point. They develop an odd relationship with the beacon, loving it and hating it, but ultimately dependent on it, because it's their only salvation from the darkness.

The creatures in the darkness make them wonder where they are, if this takes place in the real world, or in an imaginary one, if these things you are seeing are even real or just figments of the character's imagination. As you explore further, the beacon suddenly starts becoming faster, and you're struggling to keep up, barely given the chance to wonder if it's forgotten you or if it's abandoning you. And in the end, they are left wondering what the point of it all was. Whether it was worth it or not, and get to finally reflect on all those feelings you had, as your relationship with the beacon is revealed.

I think people who enjoy Beacon do so because it's not just fun. You don't just shoot things or try to get points. Instead of just making you feel good or challenging you, it makes you feel things that one doesn't often feel while playing games, resulting in a thrill that not all games have to offer.

So the question isn't whether Beacon is a game or not, it's more like the difference between watching a hot-seat action film and a dark, tragic thriller. You watch each of them for different reasons, and to feel different things. If all films were action films, we'd miss out on all the things that other types of films have to offer us, such as comedy films and documentaries. In the same sense, I try to offer something in Beacon that only an atmospheric, poetic game like it can offer, and other types of games cannot.

And some people are into that. So hopefully this cleared up some confusion surrounding the game.

Regardless of what you sought to achieve emotionally with your players, the amount of inactivity is too great in my ever so humble view.

I do however, as I stated, liked the feel of the game, not having had the patience to wait for the beacon for too long, too often, I yielded to the game and stopped playing it.

Continuing with your analogy of a movie; I heartily concur that not all movies need to be action based. Yet, plot progression needs to be there, and if there were continuous shots of absolutely no events, people would get bored watching it.

I get what you are saying, about the relationship development between player and the beacon. It's a neat trick, and one which is executed quite well. The darkness creatures withdrawal from the light is particularly neat as it reassures the player on his dependency on the beacon.

What you seem to have missed is this: If the player is bored he will not progress in the game enough to develop this relationship with the beacon. If you want the player to develop this relationship, you should --nay-- you have to keep the player entertained. For my part, there were way too many moments where I thought 'sigh, waiting for the light' and hence, did not even have the opportunity to get close to what you were aiming for.

Those are my two bits.

EDIT:
Btw, played Skullpogo and I enjoyed it very much! Best of luck with the iPhone version. I would like to see a baddie that your not supposed to hit/collide with, as it would be fun to be forced to avoid as much as to hit. What effect happens upon colliding with said baddie I leave up to you^^

Take'em or leave'em.

Edited by Snoogms, 27 September 2009 - 01:09 AM.

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ÔÇťOne of the most difficult tasks people can perform, however much others may despise it, is the invention of good games.ÔÇŁ --Jung

|| "For a WIP, 8/10." --chichmonkey || "I'll give it a 9/10" --simple-games || "There's just something about this game which makes it so addictive" --ninja_sheep ||

Yet, plot progression needs to be there, and if there were continuous shots of absolutely no events, people would get bored watching it.

Not if there was something else keeping them watching.

What you seem to have missed is this: If the player is bored he will not progress in the game enough to develop this relationship with the beacon.

I haven't missed that at all, though. Thousands of people have completed the game, and enjoyed it from beginning to end. Most of those people are my target audience, people who simply don't get their kicks out of more traditional gaming experiences, or more mechanic-oriented games, but some are folks were simply a nice surprise.

I've gotten an overwhelming reaction to the game, reached out to a lot of people and a whole new range of gamers 10 times as large as my previous games have attracted, all who don't get too bored to quit. Some people have said that it's the first game that's made them actually jump in a long time. And those things are precisely what I was aiming for. So you'd have to be hard-pressed to say that this wasn't a success.

So basically, what you say here:

If you want the player to develop this relationship, you should --nay-- you have to keep the player entertained.

... doesn't apply in this case, because I've not failed to do this. Lots of players have had this relationship, you are just one of the few who didn't. Only with a certain generation of gamers, like yourself, have I not reached. Which is fine, with me, because you weren't my target audience. Folks like you have lots of other games you can play to keep you entertained, but not many have a game that can make them feel like Beacon does (though I actually have played a few, which actually served as inspiration in Beacon's development).

You can't always make everybody happy, which is why it's important for developers like me to take into deep consideration who will be playing a game when we make it, and try to serve those people's interests the best we can. My previous game, Skullpogo, might have been more your type (EDIT: haha, and according to your edit, it is! I'm glad), because it's all go-go-go action and special effects. But I don't want to just keep feeding the same audience the same slop, because it's unmotivating and I love to experiment with new things.

I do appreciate the crits, though. While your feedback doesn't necessarily apply to Beacon and its design, it'll be useful for future games, when my target audience consists more of gamers your type.

And ofcourse you can't please everybody, would be a friggin' millionaire if you could^^

Almost. : ) I do not intend and have no desire to be wealthy, so I would please all but one.

Yet I can't help feeling that if you could've made a lot more people enjoy that relationship with the beacon, but I won't go into that any further.

This is true, and I've thought the same thing myself. But I think that's something I should aspire to in games that I have more than 48 hours to make. Maybe one day I will take the idea further, and make it into a more mainstream-accessible game, perhaps available on XBL or maybe even the iPhone.

And, just because you dipped into that subject, my generation of video-gamers is the first one;)

I used the wrong word for that in any case. Those who don't enjoy the game seem to be of all and any age, I just couldn't find a term that correctly wrapped up gamer's expectations and fell with that one.

For sure, bro. I'm concentrating on developing a few flash games right now, so you won't see me around here much, but I create the occasional Game Maker game here and there, especially for stuff like Ludum Dare, so I'll drop in. Good luck with your own game.

PS: The iPhone version of Skullpogo is actually completed, too, just not submitted to the app store yet. Unfortunately folks here won't hear about it much, as it's not created in Game Maker.

I don't like the username of the person who made Worlds Most Annoying Game, and the game itself was very... Uninteresting. I just kept running into random traps. There was nothing to actually do in the game.

Beacon, on the other hand, is made by someone named "ChevyRay". Chevy? That's interesting somewhat. Ray? One of those basterds killed the crocodile hunter. So that's a few cool points off. But the game itself held my interest long enough to complete it.

In the end, due to the names of the creators, I must say that both are mediocre games. But Beacon can be fun at times and has more to do than just "die a lot, lol".

...

But seriously, worlds most annoying game got, well, annoying pretty fast mainly due to the slow walkspeed of the mainchar combined with the long level(s?) filled with random traps.
Beacon on the other hand has an awesome atmosphere of loneliness combined with minimal, effectively used storytelling.

What I'd have liked to see in beacon though would be actual enemies.
The time I saw that giant shadowy fish swimming away from me as I jumped into the water, I mentally prepared to be ,in future stages of the game, attacked by similar creatures of the darkness.
The game didn't deliver though.
However it's still the superior one out of those 2 so it gets my vote.

The time I saw that giant shadowy fish swimming away from me as I jumped into the water, I mentally prepared to be ,in future stages of the game, attacked by similar creatures of the darkness.The game didn't deliver though.

The time I saw that giant shadowy fish swimming away from me as I jumped into the water, I mentally prepared to be ,in future stages of the game, attacked by similar creatures of the darkness.The game didn't deliver though.

You did complete the game, right?

Yes, thank you.I meant 'creatures' in the sense of 'obstacles you have a chance to avoid'.Right now neither of the black things hurt you since once you touch them, they just swish away.

I don't like the username of the person who made Worlds Most Annoying Game, and the game itself was very... Uninteresting. I just kept running into random traps. There was nothing to actually do in the game.

Beacon, on the other hand, is made by someone named "ChevyRay". Chevy? That's interesting somewhat. Ray? One of those basterds killed the crocodile hunter. So that's a few cool points off. But the game itself held my interest long enough to complete it.

In the end, due to the names of the creators, I must say that both are mediocre games. But Beacon can be fun at times and has more to do than just "die a lot, lol".

Beacon. Awesome awesome awesome ending. Possibly the best I've seen in a gm game. I loved it. Made me wonder what 96 hours could have done. My only quarrel is that the "death" notes take a bit long to fade in and fade out making each death really really painful. But I also understand that there need to make a smooth transition in order to preserve the suspenseful yet smooth atmosphere of the game.

The Most Annoying was really quite funny at first, but it was just too annoying. I couldn't bring myself to make it past the first level.

Not thrilled with either game really. Beacon has very weak game-play and is more art than game. And the other game lives up to its name too well. I voted for Beacon simply because more work was involved in making that, or at least it seems that way.